Page 10 of 7 Dirty Lies

“I’ve never had a one-night stand before.Or a two-night stand, for that matter.”He said quickly, sitting back and placing his hands on the table.It was almost as if he was sayingthis is me, all of me, take it or leave it.“And I don’t think I’d be very goodatit.”

No, I imagined Colt was more of a one-woman, she’s-all-mine, I-like-to-have-it-all kind of guy.He didn’t scream ladies man, despite all that masculine sex appeal.“And that prevents us from havingdinner?”

His eyebrows shot up.“No, but if you were expecting a man to put the moves on you and seduce you into his bed, you’re looking at thewrongman.”

“Too late.”Oh, how he had it all wrong.“You already ‘put the moves on me’ and I’m already pretty damned seduced by you simply beingyou,Colt.”

He blinked at me in surprise just as Gerald approached the table with a bottle of wine.“Good evening, Colt.Good to see you again.I took the liberty of getting your favorite wine ready.Would the lady like anything different?”He smiled at me warmly as he held out the bottle for myinspection.

I liked Gerald.He was a distinctive looking man with a nice smile and a short beard.He was mostly bald on top and had the rest of his hair shaved down short so that it nearly matched.I glanced at the Pinot Noir.“I’ll have what he’s having,thankyou.”

“Any appetizers tonight?We have a wonderful Ahi Tuna plate,” he said as he poured myglass.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Colt’s shocked gaze.“Ilovetuna.”

“Tuna it is, then.”He finally looked away to smile at Gerald, who, I might add, chuckled like he saw and understood everything that had justhappened.

“So the question is,” I said the moment Gerald was out of earshot, “areyoufreaked out by the idea that I enjoy yourcompany?”

He took a sip of the wine and cracked his neck.“Not freaked out.Confused.”

“That a handsome man with a penchant for getting to know people would beattractive?”

His cheeks brightened just a little.“That you’d be attracted to a workaholic with no flingexperience.”

Oh, if he only knew how much more attractive that made him.“You have a life you need to get back to.Ihave a life that has taken over everything.I need this vacation if I’m going to survive the stress.What I need more than anything is to have fun for the next two days with someone who doesn’t need anything from me.Because I have nothingtogive.”

His eyes darkened and that protective look came back over his face.“You have plenty to offer that doesn’t require giving anything that you need.”His jaw ticked as he glanced out the picture window at the sun setting into the ocean.“I hate hearing that you feelotherwise.”

And that was part of what I couldn’t figure out.Why did he care?And why did I care about him?We didn’t know each other and yet...we understood, and that seemed to be more important thananythingelse.

“In my real life, that’s the just the way it is.Everything is a currency.There is nothing that comesforfree.”

“I’m free.”He said it like he was angry, his eyes flicking from the sunset to mine.“I can’t offer you much, but that is yours.Whatever time we spend together, whatever we do, it’s given freely and withoutexpectation.”

I took a steadying breath because my entire body seemed to have grown hot under Colt’s intense stare.“It’s the same for me.Please don’t think I’m here for anythingfromyou.”

He held my gaze, not saying anything and not looking away.And then, just when I didn’t think I’d ever be able to breath again, “I know,Annie.”

And by the tone in his voice, the conviction of those three simple words, I knew he meant it.Knowing that he understood hit me harder than I expected.No one ever believed me.Fuck, they barely even listened to me.They took what they needed and then they asked for more.To be seen so easily and clearly was damn near unbelievable, and yet here he was, looking rightatme.

I was grateful when Gerald returned with our appetizer.We needed the break to recover.Plus food seemed like a really good idea with my head swirling and my pulse pounding like a drum in a really intenserockband.

Colt slowly relaxed and then his smile returned as he joked with Gerald about something they’d both seen the day before.I wasn’t really paying attention to their words because I was so caught up in the way Colt smiled and interacted with our waiter.He was so genuine.So friendly.I found that I wanted to spend more time around him simply because I enjoyed the way I felt being around someone who cared about someone other thanhimself.

Which was a really sad comment on my life, but it was what it was.I grew up in Hollywood royalty.Most of the people around me were either fame obsessed or social climbers.They cared about themselves and little else.It was a strange, sad world to come of age in, even with my sister’s protection and UncleOliver.

“So, what can we talk about that doesn’t put us in a weird place?”Colt smiled between forkfuls ofsalad.

“Where are you from?”He didn’t need to give me details about his house or his family, I just wanted to picture himsomewhere.

Luckily he seemed to understand exactly what I wanted.“California.It’s a great place to grow up.I got to do a little bit of everything.Hiking, swimming, horseback riding...I was a pretty outdoorsy kid.Whataboutyou?”

Back lots and movie sets.“LA and New York mostly.I moved back and forth a lot untilcollege.”

“Where didyougo?”

“Yale”

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